Jones family #selfie at Wells Dam

These days I’m into road trips. Our most recent one was taken across the state to visit my beloved brother and his family in remote Omak. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of it; neither have many Washingtonians. It’s not exactly a premier destination spot, but we love it there. We relish the slower pace, the spacious views, Rock Wall Cellars right down the road, and best

of all, the eternally significant, soul-enriching conversations with our loved ones. I’m also into unplanned stops along the way, such as when we paused at the Wells Dam because someone needed a pit stop NOW. There, we discovered a petroglyph, a view, and a ginormous turbine which became a climbing toy for our boy. We spent only ten minutes there but made forever family memories. Which to me says that road trips, like life, are just as much about the journey as the destination.

You know how sometimes you stumble across something small that ends up delighting you in big ways? That’s what happened when I picked up this little gem: A Collection of Wednesdays: Creating a Whole from the Parts by Amy Gaither Hayes (yes, of the famous Gaither family musical dynasty). I saw it on a shelf and decided to buy it for myself, and since this is something I very rarely do, the fact that I did is beginning to feel a little God-ordained. Or maybe a lot. I am loving this book. My soul resonates in the same way it has with Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water and Shauna Niequist’s Bread and Wine. I love the whole idea of it–of the bits of our lives comprising the whole–as well as her philosophy of melding art and heart. It holds stories, reflections and poetry. I find myself alternating between responses of, Yes! Me too! and Oh! I want to do that.

This book no doubt had something to do with it, but these days I’m also into poems. That is, not only reading them but writing them as well. I have to tell you, nothing surprises me more, but I love it. It seems proof positive that one is never too old to grow into something new. Here’s the first one I wrote a few weeks ago:

Surprise
I wonder if I can write a poem
I never thought I could (or would)
But maybe it’s only because I didn’t try
Afraid that I might fail.

That’s it! But it was the start. I’ve written at least five others since then, and am excited to have found this new-to-me way of expressing.

[Tweet “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper. ~ W.B. Yeats”]

Finally, these days I’m into all things Irish. As I’ve mentioned, hubby and I will be celebrating our 25th in Ireland this summer–yes, sans kiddos. It is an anniversary trip, after all. Our planning is just about complete, with airfare purchased and accommodations reserved. And here at home, I’ve been serving Irish (steel-cut) oats, reading from my book of Celtic Daily Prayer, drinking Irish Breakfast tea, discovering Yeats (poetry again), and planning our traditional St. Patrick’s Day feast of corned beef, colcannon and Irish soda bread.

So that’s it for me. What are you into these days?